Beam changing for a repeater node

ABSTRACT

This disclosure provides systems, apparatus, methods, and computer-readable media for beam switching by a repeater node that forwards communications from one of a first node or a second node to the other of the first node or the second node. For example, after a change of position by the second node, the first node may provide the repeater node an instruction to perform a beam change operation to communicate with the second node. In some aspects, performing the beam change operation by the repeater node may improve reliability of wireless communications, such as by focusing signal energy in a particular direction. Further, a beam change delay time interval or a scheduling of the beam change delay time interval may be selected based on scheduling associated with other nodes, which may reduce a number of messages sent to the repeater node (such as by reducing instructions to change beam directions).

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, but without limitation, towireless communication systems that include repeater nodes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging,broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-accessnetworks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the availablenetwork resources. Such networks, which are usually multiple accessnetworks, support communications for multiple users by sharing theavailable network resources.

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stationsthat can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). AUE may communicate with a base station via downlink and uplink. Thedownlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from thebase station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to thecommunication link from the UE to the base station. On the downlink, atransmission from the base station may encounter interference due totransmissions from neighbor base stations or from other wireless radiofrequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink, a transmission from the UEmay encounter interference from uplink transmissions of other UEscommunicating with the neighbor base stations or from other wireless RFtransmitters. This interference may degrade performance on both thedownlink and uplink.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods and devices of this disclosure each have severalinnovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for thedesirable attributes disclosed herein.

One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosurecan be implemented in a method of wireless communication performed by arepeater node. The method includes relaying a first message using afirst beam. The first message is relayed from a first node to a secondnode or from the second node to the first node. The method furtherincludes receiving an instruction to perform a beam change operationfrom the first beam to a second beam. The method further includesrelaying, from one of the first node or the second node to the other ofthe first node or the second node, a second message using the secondbeam.

In some implementations, a beam change delay time interval associatedwith the beam change operation is associated with one or more of a firstsubcarrier spacing (SCS) of a first link associated with the repeaternode and the first node, a second SCS of a second link associated withthe repeater node and the second node prior to the beam changeoperation, or a third SCS of the second link after the beam changeoperation.

In some implementations, the first SCS is associated with a first beamchange delay, the second SCS is associated with a second beam changedelay, the third SCS is associated with a third beam change delay, andthe beam change delay time interval is selected from among the firstbeam change delay, the second beam change delay, and the third beamchange delay.

In some implementations, the method can include receiving aconfiguration message indicating a threshold beam change delay timeinterval associated with an SCS, where a beam change delay time intervalassociated with the beam change operation is less than or equal to thethreshold beam change delay time interval.

In some implementations, the method can include transmitting a messageindicating a beam change delay capability associated with the repeaternode, and the threshold beam change delay time interval is associatedwith the beam change delay capability and with the SCS.

In some implementations, the threshold beam change delay time intervalis based on a plurality of threshold beam change delay time intervalsassociated with a plurality of repeater nodes that includes the repeaternode and at least one other repeater node.

In some implementations, the threshold beam change delay time intervalis common to a plurality of repeater nodes that includes the repeaternode and at least one other repeater node.

In some implementations, the method can include receiving a firstdownlink control information (DCI) message, receiving a second DCImessage, and forwarding the second DCI message to the first node or thesecond node. The first DCI message indicates a first beam change delaytime interval associated with the repeater node, the second DCI messageindicates a second beam change delay time interval associated with thefirst node or the second node and that is less than the first beamchange delay time interval, and the beam change operation is performedbased on the first beam change delay time interval.

In some implementations, the first DCI message includes the instructionto perform the beam change operation.

In some implementations, the method can include transmitting a messageindicating a beam change delay capability associated with the repeaternode, where the beam change delay capability corresponds to a differencebetween the first beam change delay time interval and the second beamchange delay time interval.

In some implementations, the instruction is of a dynamic scheduling typethat indicates to perform the beam change operation dynamically.

In some implementations, the instruction is of a semi-static schedulingtype that indicates to perform the beam change operationsemi-statically.

In some implementations, the repeater node is in communication withmultiple user equipments (UEs), and each UE of the multiple UEs isassociated with one or both of a respective beam or a respectivescheduling type.

In some implementations, the instruction indicates to perform the beamchange operation semi-statically according to a scheduling patternassociated with the multiple UEs.

In some implementations, the instruction is included in a downlinkcontrol information (DCI) message, a medium access control (MAC) controlelement (MAC-CE), or a radio resource control (RRC) signal.

In some implementations, the method can include, during a beam changedelay time interval associated with the beam change operation,communicating using the first beam.

In some implementations, the method can include, during a beam changedelay time interval associated with the beam change operation, bufferingone or more messages from one of the first node or the second node, andafter performing the beam change operation, transmitting the one or moremessages to the other of the first node or the second node using thesecond beam.

In some implementations, the repeater node is included in a multi-hopnetwork that includes at least a second repeater node, and a first beamchange delay time interval associated with the repeater node isdifferent than a second beam change delay time interval associated withthe second repeater node.

In some implementations, the repeater node is included in a multi-hopnetwork that includes at least a second repeater node, and a firstscheduling associated with the repeater node is different than a secondscheduling associated with the second repeater node.

In some implementations, the first scheduling is one of a periodic typeor a semi-static type, and the second scheduling is one of the periodictype or the semi-static type.

In some implementations, the first scheduling is applied to firstdownlink transmit beams or first uplink receive beams associated withthe repeater node, and the second scheduling is applied to seconddownlink transmit beams or second uplink receive beams associated withthe second repeater node.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented in a repeater node for wirelesscommunication. The repeater node includes a transmitter and a receiverconfigured to receive an instruction to perform a beam change operationfrom a first beam to a second beam. One or more of the transmitter orthe receiver are configured to relay a first message using the firstbeam from a first node to a second node or from the second node to thefirst node and are further configured to relay, from one of the firstnode or the second node to the other of the first node or the secondnode, a second message using the second beam.

In some implementations, the repeater node and the first node areassociated with a first link, and the first link corresponds to anaccess link or a fronthaul link.

In some implementations, the repeater node and the second node areassociated with a second link, and the second link corresponds to afronthaul link or an access link.

In some implementations, the first node corresponds to at least one of auser equipment (UE), a repeater node, a distributed unit (DU), a basestation, a parent node, or a central unit (CU).

In some implementations, the second node corresponds to at least one ofa UE, a repeater node, a DU, a base station, a parent node, or a CU.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication bya first node. The method includes receiving, from a second node via arepeater node, one or more signals associated with a change of positionof the second node. The method further includes transmitting, to therepeater node, an instruction for the repeater node to perform a beamchange operation associated with the change of position of the secondnode.

In some implementations, the instruction is of one of a dynamicscheduling type that indicates to perform the beam change operationdynamically or a semi-static scheduling type that indicates to performthe beam change operation semi-statically.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wirelesscommunication. The apparatus includes a receiver configured to receive,via a repeater node from a second node, one or more signals associatedwith a change of position of the second node. The apparatus furtherincludes a transmitter configured to transmit, to the repeater node, aninstruction for the repeater node to perform a beam change operationassociated with the change of position of the second node.

In some aspects, the instruction is of one of a dynamic scheduling typethat indicates to perform the beam change operation dynamically or asemi-static scheduling type that indicates to perform the beam changeoperation semi-statically.

Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter describedin this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will becomeapparent from the description, the drawings and the claims. Note thatthe relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn toscale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communicationsystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating examples of a base station (BS)and a user equipment (UE).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a communication system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a communicationsystem including a multi-hop network.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process of wirelesscommunication performed by a repeater node.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process of wirelesscommunication performed by a base station.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a repeater node.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a base station.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is directed to certain implementations for thepurposes of describing the innovative aspects of this disclosure.However, a person having ordinary skill in the art will readilyrecognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a multitude ofdifferent ways. Some of the examples in this disclosure are based onwireless and wired local area network (LAN) communication according tothe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11wireless standards, the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards, and the IEEE 1901Powerline communication (PLC) standards. However, the describedimplementations may be implemented in any device, system or network thatis capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to any ofthe wireless communication standards, including any of the IEEE 802.11standards, the Bluetooth® standard, code division multiple access(CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM),GSM/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment(EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (′TETRA), Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA),Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), NEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, HighSpeed Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA),High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High Speed PacketAccess (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), AMPS, or other known signalsthat are used to communicate within a wireless, cellular or internet ofthings (IOT) network, such as a system utilizing 3G, 4G or 5G, orfurther implementations thereof, technology.

Some wireless communication systems use “intermediate” devices thatforward messages and signals from one device to another device. Use ofsuch an intermediate device may increase a communication range ofdevices. In some cases, implementation of an intermediate device may bedifficult due to the variety of different wireless communicationtechnologies (such as different wireless communication protocols) thatmay be used by devices in communication with the intermediate device.For example, some devices may transmit and receive signals havingdifferent directions.

For example, some wireless communication systems use beams to focussignal energy in one or more directions. To illustrate, a base stationmay use an antenna array to focus transmitted signals toward a UE, andthe UE may use an antenna array to focus energy of transmitted signalstoward the base station. In some cases, a distance between devices mayexceed a range associated with beams, which may result in droppedcommunications and service interruptions. Further, in some cases, aposition or location of the UE may change, in which case the antennaarrays may transmit or focus signals in the “wrong” direction in somecases.

The present disclosure provides systems, apparatus, methods, andcomputer-readable media for beam switching by a repeater node thatforwards communications from one of a first node or a second node to theother of the first node or the second node. For example, after a changeof position by the second node, the first node may provide the repeaternode an instruction to perform a beam change operation from a first beamto a second beam to communicate with the second node.

In some implementations, the beam change operation is associated with abeam change delay time interval, such as a “maximum” time (or number ofslots) between detecting a beam change trigger condition (such asreceiving the instruction) and performing the beam change operation. Inan illustrative example, the beam change delay time interval may bebased on one or more of a first subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a first linkbetween the repeater node and the first node, a second SCS of a secondlink between the repeater node and the second node prior to the beamchange operation, or a third SCS of the second link after the beamchange operation. Alternatively, or in addition, the beam change delaytime interval may be based on beam change delay time intervalsassociated with one or more nodes, such as the second node.

Further, the beam change delay time interval may be changed based on aschedule, such as based on a semi-static schedule or based on a periodicschedule. As an illustrative example, the repeater node may communicatewith multiple nodes (such as multiple UEs) based on a schedule (such asa semi-static or periodic schedule), and the beam change operation maybe performed according to the schedule to facilitate communication withthe multiple nodes.

Particular implementations of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the followingpotential advantages. In some aspects, performing a beam changeoperation by a repeater node may improve reliability of wirelesscommunications, such as by focusing signal energy in a particulardirection, which may enhance reliability of wireless communications ascompared to isotopically relaying messages between nodes. Further, abeam change delay time interval or a scheduling of the beam change delaytime interval may be selected based on scheduling associated with othernodes, which may facilitate enhanced wireless communication (such as byenabling directional communication with multiple nodes) while reducing anumber of messages sent to the repeater node (such as by reducing oreliminating the use of multiple instructions to change between beamdirections). In some cases, performing the beam change operation by therepeater node may reduce interference in a wireless communicationsystem. For example, by focusing signals transmitted by a repeater nodeto a UE (instead of isotopically transmitting the signals), other UEsmay detect less interference from the signals, improving signal qualityfor the other UEs.

5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, anddiverse services and devices that may be implemented using an OFDM-basedunified, air interface. To achieve these goals, further enhancements toLT E and LTE-A are considered in addition to development of the newradio technology for 5G NR networks. The 5G NR will be capable ofscaling to provide coverage (1) to a massive Internet of things (IoTs)with an ultra-high density (such as ˜1 M nodes/km²), ultra-lowcomplexity (such as ˜10 s of bits/sec), ultra-low energy (such as ˜10+years of battery life), and deep coverage with the capability to reachchallenging locations; (2) including mission-critical control withstrong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, orclassified information, ultra-high reliability (such as 99.9999%reliability), ultra-low latency (such as ˜1 millisecond (ms)), and userswith wide ranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) with enhancedmobile broadband including extreme high capacity (such as ˜10 Tbps/km²),extreme data rates (such as multi-Gbps rate, 100+ Mbps user experiencedrates), and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.

Devices, networks, and systems may be configured to communicate via oneor more portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagneticspectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency or wavelength, intovarious classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR two initial operatingbands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). The frequencies between FR1and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although aportion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to(interchangeably) as a “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents andarticles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard toFR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave”(mmWave) band in documents and articles, despite being different fromthe extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which isidentified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a“mmWave” band.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, itshould be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if usedherein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz,may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unlessspecifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term“mmWave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequenciesthat may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, or may bewithin the EHF band.

5G NR devices, networks, and systems may be implemented to use optimizedOFDM-based waveform features. These features may include scalablenumerology and transmission time intervals (TTIs); a common, flexibleframework to efficiently multiplex services and features with a dynamic,low-latency time division duplex (TDD)/frequency division duplex (FDD)design; and advanced wireless technologies, such as massive multipleinput, multiple output (MIMO), robust mmWave transmissions, advancedchannel coding, and device-centric mobility. Scalability of thenumerology in 5G NR, with scaling of subcarrier spacing, may efficientlyaddress operating diverse services across diverse spectrum and diversedeployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro coveragedeployments of less than 3 GHz FDD/TDD implementations, subcarrierspacing may occur with 15 kHz, for example over 1, 5, 10, 20 MHz, andthe like bandwidth. For other various outdoor and small cell coveragedeployments of TDD greater than 3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with30 kHz over 80/100 MHz bandwidth. For other various indoor widebandimplementations, using a TDD over the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHzband, the subcarrier spacing may occur with 60 kHz over a 160 MHzbandwidth. Finally, for various deployments transmitting with mmWavecomponents at a TDD of 28 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 120 kHzover a 500 MHz bandwidth.

The scalable numerology of 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI for diverselatency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorterTTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTImay be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficient multiplexingof long and short TTIs to allow transmissions to start on symbolboundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integrated subframedesign with uplink/downlink scheduling information, data, andacknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integratedsubframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-basedshared spectrum, adaptive uplink/downlink that may be flexiblyconfigured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink anddownlink to meet the current traffic needs.

For clarity, certain aspects of the apparatus and techniques may bedescribed below with reference to example 5G NR implementations or in a5G-centric way, and 5G terminology may be used as illustrative examplesin portions of the description below; however, the description is notintended to be limited to 5G applications.

Moreover, it should be understood that, in operation, wirelesscommunication networks adapted according to the concepts herein mayoperate with any combination of licensed or unlicensed spectrumdepending on loading and availability. Accordingly, it will be apparentto a person having ordinary skill in the art that the systems, apparatusand methods described herein may be applied to other communicationssystems and applications than the particular examples provided.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of an example wirelesscommunication system. The wireless communication system may includewireless network 100. The wireless network 100 may, for example, includea 5G wireless network. As appreciated by those skilled in the art,components appearing in FIG. 1 are likely to have related counterpartsin other network arrangements including, for example, cellular-stylenetwork arrangements and non-cellular-style-network arrangements, suchas device to device or peer to peer or ad hoc network arrangements, etc.

The wireless network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a number of basestations 105 and other network entities. A base station may be a stationthat communicates with the UEs and may be referred to as an evolved nodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like.Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for aparticular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to thisparticular geographic coverage area of a base station or a base stationsubsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in whichthe term is used. In implementations of the wireless network 100 herein,the base stations 105 may be associated with a same operator ordifferent operators, such as the wireless network 100 may include aplurality of operator wireless networks. Additionally, inimplementations of the wireless network 100 herein, the base stations105 may provide wireless communications using one or more of the samefrequencies, such as one or more frequency bands in licensed spectrum,unlicensed spectrum, or a combination thereof, as a neighboring cell. Insome examples, an individual base station 105 or UE 115 may be operatedby more than one network operating entity. In some other examples, eachbase station 105 and UE 115 may be operated by a single networkoperating entity.

A base station may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or asmall cell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, or other types of cell.A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area, suchas several kilometers in radius, and may allow unrestricted access byUEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell,such as a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smallergeographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with servicesubscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, such as a femtocell, would also generally cover a relatively small geographic area,such as a home, and, in addition to unrestricted access, may providerestricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell, suchas UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home,and the like. A base station for a macro cell may be referred to as amacro base station. A base station for a small cell may be referred toas a small cell base station, a pico base station, a femto base stationor a home base station. In the example shown in FIG. 1, base stations105 d and 105 e are regular macro base stations, while base stations 105a-105 c are macro base stations enabled with one of 3 dimension (3D),full dimension (FD), or massive MIMO. Base stations 105 a-105 c takeadvantage of their higher dimension MIMO capabilities to exploit 3Dbeamforming in both elevation and azimuth beamforming to increasecoverage and capacity. Base station 105 f is a small cell base stationwhich may be a home node or portable access point. A base station maysupport one or multiple cells, such as two cells, three cells, fourcells, and the like.

The wireless network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronousoperation. For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similarframe timing, and transmissions from different base stations may beapproximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the basestations may have different frame timing, and transmissions fromdifferent base stations may not be aligned in time. In some scenarios,networks may be enabled or configured to handle dynamic switchingbetween synchronous or asynchronous operations.

The UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and eachUE may be stationary or mobile. It should be appreciated that, althougha mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) instandards and specifications promulgated by the 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP), such apparatus may additionally or otherwisebe referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), asubscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, aremote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wirelesscommunications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, anaccess terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remoteterminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, aclient, or some other suitable terminology. Within the present document,a “mobile” apparatus or UE need not necessarily have a capability tomove, and may be stationary. Some non-limiting examples of a mobileapparatus, such as may include implementations of one or more of the UEs115, include a mobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, a sessioninitiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, alaptop, a personal computer (PC), a notebook, a netbook, a smart book, atablet, and a personal digital assistant (PDA). A mobile apparatus mayadditionally be an “Internet of things” (IoT) or “Internet ofeverything” (IoE) device such as an automotive or other transportationvehicle, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, aglobal navigation satellite system (GNSS) device, a logisticscontroller, a drone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a smart energy orsecurity device, a solar panel or solar array, municipal lighting,water, or other infrastructure; industrial automation and enterprisedevices; consumer and wearable devices, such as eyewear, a wearablecamera, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a mammal implantabledevice, gesture tracking device, medical device, a digital audio player(such as MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc.; and digital homeor smart home devices such as a home audio, video, and multimediadevice, an appliance, a sensor, a vending machine, intelligent lighting,a home security system, a smart meter, etc. In one aspect, a UE may be adevice that includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). Inanother aspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. Insome aspects, UEs that do not include UICCs may be referred to as IoEdevices. The UEs 115 a-115 d of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 1are examples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessing the wirelessnetwork 100. A UE may be a machine specifically configured for connectedcommunication, including machine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC(eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like. The UEs 115 e-115 killustrated in FIG. 1 are examples of various machines configured forcommunication that access 5G network 100.

A mobile apparatus, such as UEs 115, may be able to communicate with anytype of the base stations, whether macro base stations, pico basestations, femto base stations, relays, and the like. In FIG. 1, acommunication link (represented as a lightning bolt) indicates wirelesstransmissions between a UE and a serving base station, which is a basestation designated to serve the UE on the downlink or uplink, or desiredtransmission between base stations, and backhaul transmissions betweenbase stations. Backhaul communication between base stations of thewireless network 100 may occur using wired or wireless communicationlinks.

In operation at the 5G network 100, the base stations 105 a-105 c servethe UEs 115 a and 115 b using 3D beamforming and coordinated spatialtechniques, such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity.Macro base station 105 d performs backhaul communications with the basestations 105 a-105 c, as well as small cell, the base station 105 f.Macro base station 105 d also transmits multicast services which aresubscribed to and received by the UEs 115 c and 115 d. Such multicastservices may include mobile television or stream video, or may includeother services for providing community information, such as weatheremergencies or alerts, such as Amber alerts or gray alerts.

The wireless network 100 of implementations supports mission criticalcommunications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for missioncritical devices, such the UE 115 e, which is a drone. Redundantcommunication links with the UE 115 e include from the macro basestations 105 d and 105 e, as well as small cell base station 105 f.Other machine type devices, such as UE 115 f (thermometer), the UE 115 g(smart meter), and the UE 115 h (wearable device) may communicatethrough the wireless network 100 either directly with base stations,such as the small cell base station 105 f, and the macro base station105 e, or in multi-hop configurations by communicating with another userdevice which relays its information to the network, such as the UE 115 fcommunicating temperature measurement information to the smart meter,the UE 115 g, which is reported to the network through the small cellbase station 105 f. The 5G network 100 may provide additional networkefficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDD communications, such asin a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) mesh network between the UEs 115 i-115 kcommunicating with the macro base station 105 e.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example design ofa base station 105 and a UE 115. The base station 105 and the UE 115 maybe one of the base stations and one of the UEs in FIG. 1. For arestricted association scenario (as mentioned above), the base station105 may be the small cell base station 105 f in FIG. 1, and the UE 115may be the UE 115 c or 115 d operating in a service area of the basestation 105 f, which in order to access the small cell base station 105f, would be included in a list of accessible UEs for the small cell basestation 105 f. Additionally, the base station 105 may be a base stationof some other type. As shown in FIG. 2, the base station 105 may beequipped with antennas 234 a through 234 t, and the UE 115 may beequipped with antennas 252 a through 252 r for facilitating wirelesscommunications.

At the base station 105, a transmit processor 220 may receive data froma data source 212 and control information from a processor 240. Thecontrol information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH),physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid-ARQ(automatic repeat request) indicator channel (PHICH), physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH), enhanced physical downlink control channel(EPDCCH), MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH), etc. The datamay be for the PDSCH, etc. The transmit processor 220 may process, suchas encode and symbol map, the data and control information to obtaindata symbols and control symbols, respectively. Additionally, thetransmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols, such as for theprimary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronizationsignal (SSS), and cell-specific reference signal. Transmit (TX)multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatialprocessing on the data symbols, the control symbols, or the referencesymbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streams tomodulators (MODs) 232 a through 232 t. For example, spatial processingperformed on the data symbols, the control symbols, or the referencesymbols may include precoding. Each modulator 232 may process arespective output symbol stream, such as for OFDM, etc., to obtain anoutput sample stream. Each modulator 232 may additionally oralternatively process the output sample stream to obtain a downlinksignal. For example, to process the output sample stream, each modulator232 may convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert the outputsample stream to obtain the downlink signal. Downlink signals frommodulators 232 a through 232 t may be transmitted via the antennas 234 athrough 234 t, respectively.

At the UE 115, the antennas 252 a through 252 r may receive the downlinksignals from the base station 105 and may provide received signals tothe demodulators (DEMODs) 254 a through 254 r, respectively. Eachdemodulator 254 may condition a respective received signal to obtaininput samples. For example, to condition the respective received signal,each demodulator 254 may filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize therespective received signal to obtain the input samples. Each demodulator254 may further process the input samples, such as for OFDM, etc., toobtain received symbols. MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbolsfrom demodulators 254 a through 254 r, perform MIMO detection on thereceived symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. Receiveprocessor 258 may process the detected symbols, provide decoded data forthe UE 115 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control informationto a processor 280. For example, to process the detected symbols, thereceive processor 258 may demodulate, deinterleave, and decode thedetected symbols.

On the uplink, at the UE 115, a transmit processor 264 may receive andprocess data (such as for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH))from a data source 262 and control information (such as for the physicaluplink control channel (PUCCH)) from the processor 280. Additionally,the transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for areference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may beprecoded by TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed bythe modulators 254 a through 254 r (such as for SC-FDM, etc.), andtransmitted to the base station 105. At base station 105, the uplinksignals from the UE 115 may be received by antennas 234, processed bydemodulators 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 if applicable, andfurther processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data andcontrol information sent by the UE 115. The receive processor 238 mayprovide the decoded data to data sink 239 and the decoded controlinformation to the processor 240.

The processors 240 and 280 may direct the operation at the base station105 and the UE 115, respectively. The processor 240 or other processorsand modules at the base station 105 or the processor 280 or otherprocessors and modules at the UE 115 may perform or direct the executionof various processes for the techniques described herein, such as toperform or direct the execution illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, or otherprocesses for the techniques described herein. The memories 242 and 282may store data and program codes for the base station 105 and The UE115, respectively. The scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for datatransmission on the downlink or uplink.

In some cases, the UE 115 and the base station 105 may operate in ashared radio frequency spectrum band, which may include licensed orunlicensed, such as contention-based, frequency spectrum. In anunlicensed frequency portion of the shared radio frequency spectrumband, the UEs 115 or the base stations 105 may traditionally perform amedium-sensing procedure to contend for access to the frequencyspectrum. For example, the UE 115 or base station 105 may perform alisten-before-talk or listen-before-transmitting (LBT) procedure such asa clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order todetermine whether the shared channel is available. A CCA may include anenergy detection procedure to determine whether there are any otheractive transmissions. For example, a device may infer that a change in areceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) of a power meter indicatesthat a channel is occupied. Specifically, signal power that isconcentrated in a certain bandwidth and exceeds a predetermined noisefloor may indicate another wireless transmitter. In someimplementations, a CCA may include detection of specific sequences thatindicate use of the channel. For example, another device may transmit aspecific preamble prior to transmitting a data sequence. In some cases,an LBT procedure may include a wireless node adjusting its own back offwindow based on the amount of energy detected on a channel or theacknowledge/negative-acknowledge (ACK/NACK) feedback for its owntransmitted packets as a proxy for collisions.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a communication system 300.The communication system 300 may include one or more first nodes (suchas a first node 304), one or more repeater nodes (such as a repeaternode 340), and one or more second nodes, such as a second node 380. Insome examples, the first node 304 corresponds to at least one of a UE, atransmission and reception point (TRP), a repeater, a distributed unit(DU), a base station, a parent node, or a central unit (CU), and thesecond node 380 corresponds to at least one of a UE, a TRP, a repeater,a DU, a base station, a parent node, or a CU. To further illustrate, ina non-limiting illustrative example, the first node 304 may correspondto the base station 105, and the second node 380 may correspond to theUE 115.

The repeater node 340 may communicate with the first node 304 via afirst link 330 (such as a first wireless communication channel) and maycommunicate with the second node 380 via a second link 370 (such as asecond wireless communication channel). The first link 330 maycorrespond to an access link or a fronthaul link, and the second link370 may correspond to an access link or a fronthaul link. To furtherillustrate, in a non-limiting illustrative example, the first node 304and the second node 380 may respectively correspond to the base station105 and the UE 115, and the first link 330 and the second link 370 mayrespectively correspond to a fronthaul link and an access link.

Each node illustrated in FIG. 3 may include components such as aprocessor, a memory, a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, and oneor more antennas, as illustrative examples. For example, the repeaternode 340 includes one or more processors (such as a processor 342), amemory 346, and a transceiver 350. The transceiver 350 may include atransmitter 358 and a receiver 360. The transceiver 350 may be coupledto or may include one or more antennas, such as an antenna array 362.

The antenna array 362 may include multiple antenna elements configuredto perform wireless communications with other devices, such as with thefirst node 304, the second node 380, or both. In some implementations,the antenna array 362 may be configured to perform wirelesscommunications using different beams, also referred to as antenna beams.The beams may include transmit beams and receive beams. To illustrate,the antenna array 362 may include multiple independent sets (or subsets)of antenna elements (or multiple individual antenna arrays), and eachset of antenna elements of the antenna array 362 may be configured tocommunicate using a different respective beam that may have a differentrespective direction than the other beams. For example, a first set ofantenna elements of the antenna array 362 may be configured tocommunicate via a first beam 354 having a first direction, and a secondset of antenna elements of the antenna array 362 may be configured tocommunicate via a second beam 356 having a second direction. In someother implementations, the antenna array 362 may be configured tocommunicate via more than two beams. Alternatively, one or more sets ofantenna elements of the antenna array 362 may be configured toconcurrently generate multiple beams, for example using multiple RFchains of the repeater node 340. Each individual set (or subset) ofantenna elements may include multiple antenna elements, such as twoantenna elements, four antenna elements, ten antenna elements, twentyantenna elements, or any other number of antenna elements greater thantwo. Although described as an antenna array, in some otherimplementations, the antenna array 362 may include or correspond tomultiple antenna panels, and each antenna panel may be configured tocommunicate using a different respective beam.

During operation, the second node 380 may experience a position change390. For example, the second node 380 may correspond to a portableelectronic device that is carried by a user from a first location to asecond location. As another example, the second node 380 may correspondto a sensor device (such as an Internet-of-things (IoT) sensor device)that may be moved from a first location to a second location. In someexamples, the first node may detect the position change 390 based oncommunications transmitted between the first node 304 and the secondnode 380 via the repeater node 340. As an illustrative example, thefirst node 304 may periodically transmit, via the repeater node 340,multiple beams each associated with a respective beam direction. Thesecond node 380 may select one or more beams of the multiple beams (suchas by “sweeping” the multiple beams to detect a beam associated with oneor more parameters greater than a threshold) and may transmit anindication of the selected one or more beams to the first node 304 viathe repeater node 340. Examples of the one or more parameters mayinclude a received signal strength parameter, a reference signalreceived power (RSRP) parameter, or a signal-to-noise-plus-interferenceratio (SINR) parameter, as illustrative examples. To further illustrate,the first node 304 may transmit one or more reference signals to thesecond node 380, and the second node 380 may determine the one or moreparameters based on the one or more reference signals. The second node380 may transmit a report indicating the one or more parameters, and thefirst node 304 may select a beam for the second node 380 based on thereport.

To facilitate beam changes between the first node 304 and the secondnode 380, the repeater node 340 may perform a beam change operation 352.For example, prior to the position change 390, the repeater node 340 maycommunicate with the second node 380 using the first beam 354.Communicating with the second node 380 using the first beam 354 mayinclude receiving a first message from one of the first node 304 or thesecond node 380 and relaying the first message to the other of the firstnode 304 or the second node 380. After the position change 390, therepeater node 340 may perform a beam change operation 352 from the firstbeam 354 to the second beam 356. After performing the beam changeoperation 352, the repeater node 340 may communicate with the secondnode 380 using the second beam 356. Communicating with the second node380 using the second beam 356 may include receiving a second messagefrom one of the first node 304 or the second node 380 and relaying thesecond message to the other of the first node 304 or the second node380. In some examples, the first beam 354 and the second beam 356 maycorrespond to uplink transmit beams, downlink transmit beams, uplinkreceive beams, downlink receive beams, sidelink transmit beams, sidelinkreceive beams, or other beams. Further, although the beam changeoperation 352 may be described with respect to the second node 380, insome implementations, the repeater node 340 may perform a beam changeoperation 352 with respect to the first node 304 (alternatively or inaddition to the second node 380).

In a first example, the first node 304 may provide an instruction 334 tothe repeater node 340 to perform the beam change operation 352. Forexample, the first node 304 may provide the instruction 334 to therepeater node 340 in response to detecting the position change 390 basedon one or more signals transmitted by the second node 380 to the firstnode 304 via the repeater node 340.

The instruction 334 may be associated with a scheduling type. In someexamples, the instruction 334 is of a dynamic scheduling type thatindicates that the repeater node 340 is to perform the beam changeoperation 352 dynamically. In some other examples, the instruction 334is of a semi-static scheduling type that indicates that the repeaternode 340 is to perform the beam change operation 352 semi-statically. Tofurther illustrate, the repeater node 340 may be in communication withmultiple second nodes 380, such as multiple UEs. Each UE of the multipleUEs may be associated with one or both of a respective beam or arespective scheduling type. The instruction 334 may indicate that therepeater node 340 is to perform the beam change operation 352semi-statically according to a scheduling pattern associated with themultiple UEs, which may enable the repeater node 340 to switch betweenone beam to communicate with a first UE (at times when the first UE isscheduled for communication) and another beam to communicate with asecond UE (at times when the second UE is scheduled for communication).

Alternatively, or in addition to the first example, in a second example,the repeater node 340 may be associated with a beam change delay timeinterval 344 that is associated with the beam change operation 352. Thebeam change delay time interval 344 may correspond to “maximum” time (ornumber of slots) to complete the beam change operation 352, such as a“maximum” time (or number of slots) between detecting a beam changetrigger condition (such as receiving the instruction 334) and performingthe beam change operation 352.

The beam change delay time interval 344 may correspond to a number ofslots that is associated with (or based on) a subcarrier spacing (SCS)(such as if a certain time duration may correspond to different numbersof slots for different SCSs due to different symbol durations for thedifferent SCSs). For example, the beam change delay time interval 344may be associated with (or based on) one or more of a first SCS of thefirst link 330, a second SCS of the second link 370 prior to the beamchange operation 352, or a third SCS of the second link 370 after thebeam change operation 352. In some implementations, the first SCS isassociated with a first beam change delay, the second SCS is associatedwith a second beam change delay, the third SCS is associated with athird beam change delay, and the beam change delay time interval 344 isselected from among the first beam change delay, the second beam changedelay, and the third beam change delay (such as by selecting the maximumor “worst case” beam change delay). To further illustrate, some wirelesscommunication protocols may specify that a device is to complete a beamchange operation within a time interval that is based on an SCS of alink. As an illustrative example, a wireless communication protocol mayspecify that, in response to the position change 390, the second node380 is to complete a beam change operation 382 within a time intervalthat is based on a SCS of the first link 330 or the second link 370.

In some examples, during the beam change delay time interval 344, therepeater node 340 may continue to communicate with the second node 380using the first beam 354. For example, a wireless communication protocolmay specify that the repeater node 340 is to continue communicating withthe second node 380 using the first beam 354 until completing the beamchange operation 352, at which time the repeater node 340 is tocommunicate with the second node 380 using the second beam 356. In someother examples, the repeater node 340 may pause one or morecommunications with the second node 380 during the beam change delaytime interval 344 and may resume the one or more communications inresponse to expiration of the beam change delay time interval 344. Toillustrate, a wireless communication protocol may specify that therepeater node 340 is to buffer one or more messages 348 received fromone of the first node 304 or the second node 380 during the beam changedelay time interval 344 and that the repeater node 340 is to transmitthe one or more messages 348 to the other of the first node 304 or thesecond node 380 after performing the beam change operation 352.

Alternatively, or in addition to one or more of the first and secondexamples, in a third example, the first node 304 may configure therepeater node 340 with the beam change delay time interval 344 (or witha range of beam change delay time intervals from which the repeater node340 selects the beam change delay time interval 344) based on a beamchange delay capability 318 of the repeater node 340. The beam changedelay capability 318 may correspond to a threshold time (or number ofslots) for the repeater node 340 to perform the beam change operation352.

To illustrate, the first node 304 may provide a configuration message308 indicating a threshold beam change delay time interval 312 to therepeater node 340. The threshold beam change delay time interval 312 maybe associated with an SCS, such as an SCS of the first link 330 or anSCS of the second link 370. The configuration message 308 may indicatethat the beam change delay time interval 344 is to be less than or equalto the threshold beam change delay time interval 312. In some examples,the first node 304 determines the threshold beam change delay timeinterval 312 based on the beam change delay capability 318 of therepeater node 340 (such as a hardware capability associated with thetransceiver 350 indicating a minimum switching time to perform the beamchange operation 352). For example, the repeater node 340 may transmit amessage 316 indicating the beam change delay capability 318, and thefirst node 304 may determine the threshold beam change delay timeinterval 312 based on the beam change delay capability 318 (such as byselecting a beam change delay capability 318 that is greater than orequal to the beam change delay capability 318).

In some implementations, the beam change delay time interval 344corresponds to the repeater node 340, such as if the beam change delaytime interval 344 is based on a particular hardware configuration of therepeater node 340. In this case, each repeater node 340 of thecommunication system 300 may be associated with a respective the beamchange delay time interval for a particular SCS. In some otherimplementations, a wireless communication protocol may specify that, fora particular SCS, each repeater node of the communication system 300 isto be associated with a common beam change delay time interval 344. Inthis case, the beam change delay time interval 344 may be common tomultiple repeater nodes (including the repeater node 340 and at leastone other repeater node). The common beam change delay time interval 344may be based on respective beam change delay capabilities of therepeater nodes. As an illustrative example, the first node 304 maydetermine the common beam change delay time interval 344 by selectingthe “minimum” beam change delay capability from among the beam changedelay capabilities of the multiple repeater nodes. As a non-limitingillustrative example, a wireless communication protocol may specify thata UE beam switching delay may be selected from 7, 14, or 28 slots for a60 kilohertz (kHz) SCS and may be selected from 14 or 28 slots for a 120kHz SCS. In this illustrative example, the first node 304 may select 7slots as the common beam change delay time interval 344 for a 60 kHz SCSand may select 14 slots as the common beam change delay time interval344 for a 120 kHz SCS.

Alternatively, or in addition to one or more of the first through thirdexamples, in a fourth example, the beam change delay time interval 344may correspond to a “relaxed” version of a beam change delay timeinterval associated with the second node 380. For example, because therepeater node 340 may receive messages from the first node 304 inadvance of the second node 380 (such as if the repeater node 340 is“upstream” of the second node 380), the repeater node 340 may beallocated more time to perform the beam change operation 352 than thesecond node 380 is allocated to perform the beam change operation 382.

To illustrate, the first node 304 may transmit a first downlink controlinformation (DCI) message 322 to the repeater node 340 indicating afirst beam change delay time interval (such as the beam change delaytime interval 344) associated with the repeater node 340. The first node304 may transmit a second DCI message 372 to the repeater node 340, andthe repeater node 340 may relay the second DCI message 372 to the secondnode 380. The second DCI message 372 may indicate a second beam changedelay time interval 374 associated with the second node 380, such as atime (or number of slots) by which the second node 380 is to completethe beam change operation 382. The second beam change delay timeinterval 374 may be less than the beam change delay time interval 344.

To further illustrate, the second node 380 may receive the second DCImessage 372 during slot n (where n indicates a positive integer), andthe second DCI message 372 may indicate that the second node 380 is tocomplete the beam change operation by slot n+M (where M indicates apositive integer). The repeater node 340 may receive the first DCImessage 322 during a slot n−L (where L indicates a positive integer). Inthis example, the beam change delay time interval 344 may correspond toL+M slots, and the second beam change delay time interval 374 maycorrespond to M slots. In some examples, the first DCI message 322includes the instruction 334 to perform the beam change operation 352.In some examples, the first node 304 determines the difference betweenthe beam change delay time interval 344 and the second beam change delaytime interval 374 (where the difference may correspond to L slots) basedon the beam change delay capability 318. For example, the beam changedelay capability 318 may correspond to the difference between the beamchange delay time interval 344 and the second beam change delay timeinterval 374 (such as L slots).

In some examples, one or more messages described herein may be includedin a DCI message, a medium access control (MAC) control element(MAC-CE), a radio resource control (RRC) signal, or another signal. Asan illustrative example, the instruction 334 may be included in a DCImessage, a MAC-CE, or an RRC signal.

Although the example of FIG. 3 illustrates that the communication system300 may include a single repeater node 340, in some otherimplementations, a communication system may include multiple repeaternodes.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a communicationsystem 400 including a multi-hop network. The multi-hop network mayinclude a first repeater node 340 a and at least a second repeater node340 b. The first repeater node 340 a may communicate with the secondrepeater node 340 b via a third link 430. The communication system 400may further include the first node 304 and the second node 380.

During operation, the repeater nodes 340 a-b may relay communicationsfrom the first node 304 to the second node 380, from the second node 380to the first node 304, or both. In some cases, the second repeater node340 b may experience a position change 490. For example, the secondrepeater node 340 b may correspond to a portable electronic device thatis carried by a user from a first location to a second location. Asanother example, the second repeater node 340 b may correspond to asensor device (such as an IoT sensor device) that may be moved from afirst location to a second location. Based on the position change 490,the first repeater node 340 a, the second repeater node 340 b, and thesecond node 380 may perform beam change operations associated withrespective beam change operation delay time intervals. For example, thefirst repeater node 340 a may perform a first beam change operationassociated with a first beam change delay time interval 344 a, and thesecond repeater node 340 b may perform a second beam change operationassociated with a second beam change delay time interval 344 b.

In some examples, the first beam change delay time interval 344 aassociated with the first repeater node 340 a may be different than(such as more “relaxed” than) the second beam change delay time interval344 b associated with the second repeater node 340 b. For example,because the first repeater node 340 a may receive messages from thefirst node 304 in advance of the second repeater node 340 b (such as ifthe first repeater node 340 a is “upstream” of the second repeater node340 b), the first repeater node 340 a may be allocated more time toperform a beam change operation as compared to the second repeater node340 b. To further illustrate, the second node 380 may be allocated Mslots to perform a beam change operation, the second repeater node 340 bmay be allocated M+L slots to perform a beam change operation, and thefirst repeater node 340 a may be allocated M+L+K slots to perform a beamchange operation (where K indicates a positive integer).

Alternatively, or in addition, a first scheduling associated with thefirst repeater node 340 a may be different than a second schedulingassociated with the second repeater node 340 b. To illustrate, the firstscheduling may be one of a periodic type or a semi-static type, and thesecond scheduling may be one of the periodic type or the semi-statictype. The first scheduling may be applied to first downlink transmitbeams or first uplink receive beams associated with the first repeaternode 340 a, and the second scheduling may be applied to second downlinktransmit beams or second uplink receive beams associated with the secondrepeater node 340 b.

One or more aspects described herein may improve performance of awireless communication system. For example, by performing the beamchange operation 352, the repeater node 340 may improve reliability ofwireless communications, such as by focusing signal energy in aparticular direction of the second node 380, which may enhancereliability of wireless communications as compared to isotopicallyrelaying messages between the nodes 304, 380. Further, the beam changedelay time interval 344 or a scheduling of the beam change delay timeinterval 344 may be selected based on scheduling associated with othernodes, which may facilitate enhanced wireless communication (such as byenabling directional communication with the multiple nodes) whilereducing a number of messages sent to the repeater node 340 (such as byreducing or eliminating the use of multiple instructions to changebetween beam directions). In some cases, performing the beam changeoperation 352 may reduce interference in a wireless communicationsystem. For example, by focusing signals transmitted by the repeaternode 340 to the second node 380 (instead of isotopically transmittingthe signals), other devices may detect less interference from thesignals, improving signal quality for the other devices.

Referring to FIG. 5, a flow diagram illustrating an example process 500of operations for communication by a repeater node is shown. In someimplementations, the process 500 may be performed by the repeater node340. In some other implementations, the process 500 may be performed byan apparatus configured for wireless communication. For example, theapparatus may include at least one processor, and a memory coupled tothe processor. The processor may be configured to perform operations ofthe process 500. In some other implementations, the process 500 may beperformed or executed using a non-transitory computer-readable mediumhaving program code recorded thereon. The program code may be programcode executable by a computer for causing the computer to performoperations of the process 500.

As illustrated at block 502, a repeater node may relay a first messageusing a first beam. The first message is relayed from a first node to asecond node or from the second node to the first node. For example, thefirst message may be included in the one or more messages 348, and therepeater node 340 may relay the message using the first beam 354. Insome examples, relaying the first message includes receiving the firstmessage from the first node 304 and transmitting the first message tothe second node 380. In some other examples, relaying the first messageincludes receiving the first message from the second node 380 andtransmitting the first message to the first node 304.

As illustrated at block 504, the repeater node may receive aninstruction to perform a beam change operation from the first beam to asecond beam. For example, the repeater node 340 may receive theinstruction 334 to perform the beam change operation 352 from the firstbeam 354 to the second beam 356.

As illustrated at block 506, the repeater node may relay, from one ofthe first node or the second node to the other of the first node or thesecond node, a second message using the second beam. For example, therepeater node 340 may relay, from one of the first node 304 or thesecond node 380 to the other of the first node 304 or the second node380, the second message using the second beam 356. In some examples, thesecond message is included in the one or more messages 348.

Referring to FIG. 6, a flow diagram illustrating an example process 600of operations for communication by a first node is shown. In someimplementations, the process 600 may be performed by the first node 304.In some other implementations, the process 600 may be performed by anapparatus configured for wireless communication. For example, theapparatus may include at least one processor, and a memory coupled tothe processor. The processor may be configured to perform operations ofthe process 600. In some other implementations, the process 600 may beperformed or executed using a non-transitory computer-readable mediumhaving program code recorded thereon. The program code may be programcode executable by a computer for causing the computer to performoperations of the process 600.

As illustrated at block 602, the first node may receive, from a secondnode via a repeater node, one or more signals associated with a changeof position of the second node. For example, the one or more signals mayinclude or correspond to a report generated by the second node 380 basedon a beam sweep operation after the position change 390. The first node304 may receive the one or more signals from the second node 380 via therepeater node 340.

As illustrated at block 604, the first node may transmit, to therepeater node, an instruction for the repeater node to perform a beamchange operation associated with the change of position of the secondnode. For example, the first node 304 may transmit the instruction 334to perform the beam change operation 352 from the first beam to thesecond beam 356.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the repeater node340. The repeater node 340 may include structure, hardware, andcomponents illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, the repeater node 340 mayinclude the processor 342, which may execute instructions stored in thememory 346. Under control of the processor 342, the repeater node 340may transmit and receive signals via wireless radios 701 and the antennaarray 362. The wireless radios 701 may include one or more components ordevices described herein, such as the transceiver 350, the transmitter358, the receiver 360, one or more other components, or a combinationthereof.

The memory 346 may store instructions executable by the processor 342 toinitiate, perform, or control one or more operations described herein.For example, the memory 346 may store beam change logic 702 executableby the processor 342 to initiate, perform, or control the beam changeoperation 352. In some implementations, the memory 346 may store anindication of the beam change delay time interval 344 that may beassociated with the beam change operation 352.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the base station105. The base station 105 may include structure, hardware, andcomponents illustrated in FIG. 2. For example, the base station 105 mayinclude the processor 240, which may execute instructions stored in thememory 242. Under control of the processor 240, the base station 105 maytransmit and receive signals via wireless radios 801 a-t and antennas234 a-t. The wireless radios 801 a-t may include one or more componentsor devices described herein, such as the modulator/demodulators 232 a-t,the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the transmit processor220, the TX MIMO processor 230, one or more other components or devices,or a combination thereof.

In some examples, the base station 105 performs one or more operationsdescribed with reference to the first node 304. For example, the memory242 may store beam change instruction logic 802 executable by theprocessor 240 to transmit the instruction 334 to perform the beam changeoperation 352 to the repeater node 340. In some implementations, thememory 242 may store indications of beam change delay time intervals804, and the processor 240 may select the beam change delay timeinterval 344 from the beam change delay time intervals 804.

In some aspects, techniques for supporting beam changing by a repeaternode may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or anycombination of aspects described below or in connection with one or moreother processes or devices described elsewhere herein. In one or moreaspects, an apparatus is configured to relay a first message using afirst beam from a first node to a second node or from the second node tothe first node. The apparatus is further configured to receive aninstruction to perform a beam change operation from the first beam to asecond beam. The apparatus is further configured to, after performingthe beam change operation from the first beam to the second beam, relay,from one of the first node or the second node to the other of the firstnode or the second node, a second message using the second beam.Additionally, the apparatus may perform or operate according to one ormore aspects as described below. In some implementations, the apparatusincludes a wireless device, such as a UE. In some implementations, theapparatus may include at least one processor, and a memory coupled tothe processor. The processor may be configured to perform operationsdescribed herein with respect to the apparatus. In some otherimplementations, the apparatus may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon and theprogram code may be executable by a computer for causing the computer toperform operations described herein with reference to the apparatus. Insome implementations, the apparatus may include one or more meansconfigured to perform operations described herein. In someimplementations, a method of wireless communication may include one ormore operations described herein with reference to the apparatus.

In a first aspect, a method includes relaying a first message using afirst beam. The first message is relayed from a first node to a secondnode or from the second node to the first node. The method furtherincludes receiving an instruction to perform a beam change operationfrom the first beam to a second beam. The method further includesrelaying, from one of the first node or the second node to the other ofthe first node or the second node, a second message using the secondbeam.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, abeam change delay time interval associated with the beam changeoperation is associated with one or more of a first SCS of a first linkassociated with the repeater node and the first node, a second SCS of asecond link associated with the repeater node and the second node priorto the beam change operation, or a third SCS of the second link afterthe beam change operation.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect or the second aspect, the first SCS is associated with a firstbeam change delay, the second SCS is associated with a second beamchange delay, the third SCS is associated with a third beam changedelay, and the beam change delay time interval is selected from amongthe first beam change delay, the second beam change delay, and the thirdbeam change delay.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the third aspect, the method includes receiving aconfiguration message indicating a threshold beam change delay timeinterval associated with an SCS, where a beam change delay time intervalassociated with the beam change operation is less than or equal to thethreshold beam change delay time interval.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the fourth aspect, the method includes transmitting amessage indicating a beam change delay capability associated with therepeater node, and the threshold beam change delay time interval isassociated with the beam change delay capability and with the SCS.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the fifth aspect, the threshold beam change delay timeinterval is based on a plurality of threshold beam change delay timeintervals associated with a plurality of repeater nodes that includesthe repeater node and at least one other repeater node.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the sixth aspect, the threshold beam change delaytime interval is common to a plurality of repeater nodes that includesthe repeater node and at least one other repeater node.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the seventh aspect, the method includes receiving afirst DCI message, receiving a second DCI message, and forwarding thesecond DCI message to the first node or the second node. The first DCImessage indicates a first beam change delay time interval associatedwith the repeater node, and the second DCI message indicates a secondbeam change delay time interval associated with the first node or thesecond node and that is less than the first beam change delay timeinterval, and the beam change operation is performed based on the firstbeam change delay time interval.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the eighth aspect, the first DCI message includes theinstruction to perform the beam change operation.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the ninth aspect, the method includes transmitting amessage indicating a beam change delay capability associated with therepeater node, where the beam change delay capability corresponds to adifference between the first beam change delay time interval and thesecond beam change delay time interval.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the tenth aspect, the instruction is of a dynamicscheduling type that indicates to perform the beam change operationdynamically.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the eleventh aspect, the instruction is of asemi-static scheduling type that indicates to perform the beam changeoperation semi-statically.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the twelfth aspect, the repeater node is incommunication with multiple UEs, and each UE of the multiple UEs isassociated with one or both of a respective beam or a respectivescheduling type.

In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the thirteenth aspect, the instruction indicates toperform the beam change operation semi-statically according to ascheduling pattern associated with the multiple UEs.

In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the fourteenth aspect, the instruction is includedin a DCI message, a MAC-CE, or an RRC signal.

In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the fifteenth aspect, the method includes, during abeam change delay time interval associated with the beam changeoperation, communicating using the first beam.

In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the sixteenth aspect, the method includes, during abeam change delay time interval associated with the beam changeoperation, buffering one or more messages from one of the first node orthe second node, and after performing the beam change operation,transmitting the one or more messages to the other of the first node orthe second node using the second beam.

In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the seventeenth aspect, the repeater node isincluded in a multi-hop network that includes at least a second repeaternode, and a first beam change delay time interval associated with therepeater node is different than a second beam change delay time intervalassociated with the second repeater node.

In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the eighteenth aspect, the repeater node isincluded in a multi-hop network that includes at least a second repeaternode, and a first scheduling associated with the repeater node isdifferent than a second scheduling associated with the second repeaternode.

In a twentieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the nineteenth aspect, the first scheduling is oneof a periodic type or a semi-static type, and the second scheduling isone of the periodic type or the semi-static type.

In a twenty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twentieth aspect, the first scheduling isapplied to first downlink transmit beams or first uplink receive beamsassociated with the repeater node, and the second scheduling is appliedto second downlink transmit beams or second uplink receive beamsassociated with the second repeater node.

In a twenty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-first aspect, a repeater nodeincludes a transmitter and a receiver configured to receive aninstruction to perform a beam change operation from a first beam to asecond beam. One or more of the transmitter or the receiver areconfigured to relay a first message using the first beam from a firstnode to a second node or from the second node to the first node and arefurther configured to relay, from one of the first node or the secondnode to the other of the first node or the second node, a second messageusing the second beam.

In a twenty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-second aspect, the repeater node andthe first node are associated with a first link, and the first linkcorresponds to an access link or a fronthaul link.

In a twenty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-third aspect, the repeater node andthe second node are associated with a second link, and the second linkcorresponds to a fronthaul link or an access link.

In a twenty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-fourth aspect, the first nodecorresponds to at least one of a UE a repeater node, a DU, a basestation, a parent node, or a CU.

In a twenty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-fifth aspect, the second nodecorresponds to at least one of a UE, a repeater node, a DU, a basestation, a parent node, or a CU.

In a twenty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-sixth aspect, a method includesreceiving, from a second node via a repeater node, one or more signalsassociated with a change of position of the second node. The methodfurther includes transmitting, to the repeater node, an instruction forthe repeater node to perform a beam change operation associated with thechange of position of the second node.

In a twenty-eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-seventh aspect, the instruction isof one of a dynamic scheduling type that indicates to perform the beamchange operation dynamically or a semi-static scheduling type thatindicates to perform the beam change operation semi-statically.

In a twenty-ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first aspect through the twenty-eighth aspect, an apparatus forwireless communication. The apparatus includes a receiver configured toreceive, via a repeater node from a second node, one or more signalsassociated with a change of position of the second node. The apparatusfurther includes a transmitter configured to transmit, to the repeaternode, an instruction for the repeater node to perform a beam changeoperation associated with the change of position of the second node.

In a thirtieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the twenty-ninth aspect, the instruction is of oneof a dynamic scheduling type that indicates to perform the beam changeoperation dynamically or a semi-static scheduling type that indicates toperform the beam change operation semi-statically.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.

The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, circuits andalgorithm processes described in connection with the implementationsdisclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computersoftware, or combinations of both. The interchangeability of hardwareand software has been described generally, in terms of functionality,and illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits and processes described above. Whether such functionality isimplemented in hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

The hardware and data processing apparatus used to implement the variousillustrative logics, logical blocks, modules and circuits described inconnection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose single- or multi-chip processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A general purpose processor may be amicroprocessor, or, any conventional processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine. A processor also may be implementedas a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSPand a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. In some implementations, particular processes and methodsmay be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented inhardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware,including the structures disclosed in this specification and theirstructural equivalents thereof, or in any combination thereof.Implementations of the subject matter described in this specificationalso can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one ormore modules of computer program instructions, encoded on a computerstorage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, dataprocessing apparatus.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. The processes of a method or algorithmdisclosed herein may be implemented in a processor-executable softwaremodule which may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readablemedia includes both computer storage media and communication mediaincluding any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer programfrom one place to another. A storage media may be any available mediathat may be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to storedesired program code in the form of instructions or data structures andthat may be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection can be properlytermed a computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method oralgorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes andinstructions on a machine readable medium and computer-readable medium,which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

Various modifications to the implementations described in thisdisclosure may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and thegeneric principles defined herein may be applied to otherimplementations without departing from the spirit or scope of thisdisclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with this disclosure, the principles and the novel featuresdisclosed herein.

Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate, the terms “upper” and “lower” are sometimes used for ease ofdescribing the figures, and indicate relative positions corresponding tothe orientation of the figure on a properly oriented page, and may notreflect the proper orientation of any device as implemented.

Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate implementations also can be implemented in combination in asingle implementation. Conversely, various features that are describedin the context of a single implementation also can be implemented inmultiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination.Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. Further, the drawings may schematically depict one more exampleprocesses in the form of a flow diagram. However, other operations thatare not depicted can be incorporated in the example processes that areschematically illustrated. For example, one or more additionaloperations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or betweenany of the illustrated operations. In certain circumstances,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, theseparation of various system components in the implementations describedabove should not be understood as requiring such separation in allimplementations, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.Additionally, other implementations are within the scope of thefollowing claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims canbe performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.

1. A method for wireless communication by a repeater node, comprising:relaying a first message using a first beam, wherein the first messageis relayed from a first node to a second node or from the second node tothe first node; receiving an instruction to perform a beam changeoperation from the first beam to a second beam; and relaying, from oneof the first node or the second node to the other of the first node orthe second node, a second message using the second beam.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein a beam change delay time interval associated withthe beam change operation is associated with one or more of: a firstsubcarrier spacing (SCS) of a first link associated with the repeaternode and the first node, a second SCS of a second link associated withthe repeater node and the second node prior to the beam changeoperation, or a third SCS of the second link after the beam changeoperation.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first SCS is associatedwith a first beam change delay, wherein the second SCS is associatedwith a second beam change delay, wherein the third SCS is associatedwith a third beam change delay, and wherein the beam change delay timeinterval is selected from among the first beam change delay, the secondbeam change delay, and the third beam change delay.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising receiving a configuration message indicatinga threshold beam change delay time interval associated with a subcarrierspacing (SCS), wherein a beam change delay time interval associated withthe beam change operation is less than or equal to the threshold beamchange delay time interval.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprisingtransmitting a message indicating a beam change delay capabilityassociated with the repeater node, wherein the threshold beam changedelay time interval is associated with the beam change delay capabilityand with the SCS.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the threshold beamchange delay time interval is based on a plurality of threshold beamchange delay time intervals associated with a plurality of repeaternodes that includes the repeater node and at least one other repeaternode.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the threshold beam change delaytime interval is common to a plurality of repeater nodes that includesthe repeater node and at least one other repeater node.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a first downlink controlinformation (DCI) message, wherein the first DCI message indicates afirst beam change delay time interval associated with the repeater node;receiving a second DCI message, wherein the second DCI message indicatesa second beam change delay time interval associated with the first nodeor the second node and that is less than the first beam change delaytime interval; and forwarding the second DCI message to the first nodeor the second node, wherein the beam change operation is performed basedon the first beam change delay time interval.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the first DCI message includes the instruction to perform thebeam change operation.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprisingtransmitting a message indicating a beam change delay capabilityassociated with the repeater node, wherein the beam change delaycapability corresponds to a difference between the first beam changedelay time interval and the second beam change delay time interval. 11.The method of claim 1, wherein the instruction is of a dynamicscheduling type that indicates to perform the beam change operationdynamically.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the instruction is of asemi-static scheduling type that indicates to perform the beam changeoperation semi-statically.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein therepeater node is in communication with multiple user equipments (UEs),and wherein each UE of the multiple UEs is associated with one or bothof a respective beam or a respective scheduling type.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the instruction indicates to perform the beam changeoperation semi-statically according to a scheduling pattern associatedwith the multiple UEs.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein theinstruction is included in a downlink control information (DCI) message,a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), or a radioresource control (RRC) signal.
 16. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising, during a beam change delay time interval associated with thebeam change operation, communicating using the first beam.
 17. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: during a beam change delay timeinterval associated with the beam change operation, buffering one ormore messages from one of the first node or the second node; and afterperforming the beam change operation, transmitting the one or moremessages to the other of the first node or the second node using thesecond beam.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the repeater node isincluded in a multi-hop network that includes at least a second repeaternode, and wherein a first beam change delay time interval associatedwith the repeater node is different than a second beam change delay timeinterval associated with the second repeater node.
 19. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the repeater node is included in a multi-hop networkthat includes at least a second repeater node, and wherein a firstscheduling associated with the repeater node is different than a secondscheduling associated with the second repeater node.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the first scheduling is one of a periodic type or asemi-static type, and wherein the second scheduling is one of theperiodic type or the semi-static type.
 21. The method of claim 19,wherein the first scheduling is applied to first downlink transmit beamsor first uplink receive beams associated with the repeater node, andwherein the second scheduling is applied to second downlink transmitbeams or second uplink receive beams associated with the second repeaternode.
 22. A repeater node for wireless communication, comprising: atransmitter; and a receiver configured to receive an instruction toperform a beam change operation from a first beam to a second beam,wherein one or more of the transmitter or the receiver are configured torelay a first message using the first beam from a first node to a secondnode or from the second node to the first node and are furtherconfigured to relay, from one of the first node or the second node tothe other of the first node or the second node, a second message usingthe second beam.
 23. The repeater node of claim 22, wherein the repeaternode and the first node are associated with a first link, wherein thefirst link corresponds to a first access link or a first fronthaul link,wherein the repeater node and the second node are associated with asecond link, and wherein the second link corresponds to a secondfronthaul link or a second access link.
 24. (canceled)
 25. The repeaternode of claim 22, wherein at least one of the first node or the secondnode corresponds to at least one of: a user equipment (UE); a repeaternode; a distributed unit (DU); a base station; a parent node; or acentral unit (CU).
 26. (canceled)
 27. A method for wirelesscommunication by a first node, comprising: receiving, from a second nodevia a repeater node, one or more signals associated with a change ofposition of the second node; and transmitting, to the repeater node, aninstruction for the repeater node to perform a beam change operationassociated with the change of position of the second node.
 28. Themethod of claim 27, wherein the instruction is of one of a dynamicscheduling type that indicates to perform the beam change operationdynamically or a semi-static scheduling type that indicates to performthe beam change operation semi-statically.
 29. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a receiver configured to receive, via arepeater node from a second node, one or more signals associated with achange of position of the second node; and a transmitter configured totransmit, to the repeater node, an instruction for the repeater node toperform a beam change operation associated with the change of positionof the second node.
 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein theinstruction is of one of a dynamic scheduling type that indicates toperform the beam change operation dynamically or a semi-staticscheduling type that indicates to perform the beam change operationsemi-statically.
 31. The method of claim 1, further comprisingforwarding, from the second node to the first node, one or more signalsassociated with a change of position of the second node, wherein thebeam change operation is associated with the change of position of thesecond node.
 32. The repeater node of claim 22, wherein the transmitteris further configured to forward, from the second node to the firstnode, one or more signals associated with a change of position of thesecond node, and wherein the beam change operation is associated withthe change of position of the second node.